Miasma Chronicles
by Video-game-addict
Summary: DUE TO LACK OF HITS AND REVIEWS, FIC WILL BE DISCONTINUED UNTIL MORE GENUINE INTEREST.
1. Ambush

-_A/N- _I own my characters. I do not own any towns, except for Tiaga. This story takes places 400 years after Crystal Chronicles did. Sorry about the long first chapter, I needed to introduce all of the characters. Some of the dashes were replaced by 3/4 symbols. Will be corrected soon.

Daiki laid back in the wagon, stretching his arms. He had not gotten a good night's sleep in some time, seeing as his fellow caravaner Katsu always dozed off while on guard, leaving Daiki to watch for monsters in the miasma-poisoned shadows.

Daiki had grown up an orphan, adopted by a Clavat family in the village of Tiaga, where he grew up. He was the only Clavat child in the village, and was often bullied by lilties, then made fun of by Selkies for being beaten by someone half his size. When he was 8 when a family of Selkies moved in next to him, bringing along with them Katsu.

They became friends after some time, and as the years went on Daiki and Katsu looked forward more and more to joining the Crystal Caravan. Their chance came when the caravan was nearly destroyed by several goblin ambushes, and the current caravaners called it quits due to the unusual goblin activity.

And so the two joined the caravan, and were accompanied by Ryuu the Yuke and a lilty, Rokuru. Over time they became so close one was never seen without the other three.

Those were the days Daiki dreamed about when he laid in the back of the wagon, reminiscing about those days with Katsu. He always loved having to wake up Katsu whenever they were supposed to sneak out at night; Katsu had never been able to stay awake all night, even before his birthday when he knew Daiki was going to sneak into his house and surprise him in the morning with decorations or presents of some sort; or when they got into a fight and Daiki would sneak into his room and leave a rotten fish. "Those were the days," he thought. "Those were the days…."

"DAIKI!"

"What now?" he thought as he got up. The caravan came to a screeching halt, sending Daiki flying out the front of it onto the ground.

"Who called me? What's going on? Who-" He was cut short as he looked up, and was face to face with an orc, who was on top of a Griffin. It seemed to be…_riding it?_

"What the hell?" he wondered out loud. "Orcs aren't that smart!"

He was cut short by an explosion; looking to his left he saw there was some smoke on top of the hill, where there was a group of goblins. Before he could study them further, the orc in front of him gave a muffled cry, and a plume of feathers was sent into the air. He found parts of the orc on the trees nearby, and the Griffin was laying in the middle of the road, its entrails had been trailed along the ground. A round, lead ball was lodged inside the ground near the base of a tree.

"Daiki!" Rokuru cried. He dove underneath the caravan wagon. "The frigging goblins…they've discovered gunpowder! And now they have cannons!"

"Oh, that's just great. REALLY FRIGGING GREAT! LET'S¾"

Before he could begin, a screaming goblin whizzed by them, caught on the cannon ball. He smashed into a tree, splattering blood, tree and goblin bits everywhere.

"Grr!" Rokuru growled. "Where the hell did you get gunpowder from?" He quickly unsheathed his longinus. "I'm gonna spill some goblin blood tonight!"

Balancing his weapon, he stared forward, and selected his target: the only goblin who knew how to use the gunpowder and cannon, apparently. He had been the only one working it the entire time. He started to charge, and was cut short by a leg sticking out at his head level. He hit his head and fell to the ground. "DAMMIT RYUU!"

"Save it, Lilty!" he shot back.

"I'll make short work of them!"

"I'll be shorter! Now watch!" Rokuru and Daiki watched as he fused two fire magicite and a fire ring. "Firaga," he said. "Let's use their new weapon against them!"

"WAIT!" Daiki yelled. "You've been teaching me magic, and its getting better. With my unusually short magic charge time and strong fira, I can heard them towards the gun powder. Then I can slow them and you blow them up!"

"Slow? Why not Stop?" he asked as Daiki fused two magicite.

"Because, Stop would be cruel. They wouldn't be able to move. With slow or slowga they can _try_ to move before realizing their inevitable fate. Then it's fun to watch as they frantically try to run away."

"You had a pretty screwed up childhood, didn't you?" Ryuu asked. "Very well."

"Yeah…I grew up with Katsu, remember?"

"Oh…that is a weird childhood."

"That was the best it ever got!" Daiki yelled, sending a flame shooting up near the left end of the goblin flanks. They did exactly as he wanted: they moved in towards the cannon in the center. He repeated it on the right side. "Okay, it's time for slowga!"

"WAIT A SECOND!" Katsu yelled. "We need to dig a foxhole or something because when that blows up we're gonna be sprayed with all kinds of crap. We're gonna get some use out of that Lilty's strength after all! You need to stop them, then slow when we're done!"

"How about some HASTE!" replied Ryuu, casting haste on them. The foxhole quickly progressed, and Rokuru and Katsu dove in .

"Slowga commencing!" yelled Daiki as he cast it on the central hub of goblins around the cannon. As soon as they heard the familiar sound, Daiki dove in the hole.

"MY TURN!" yelled Ryuu. His Firaga spell quickly came together, and he focused it on the cannon. "On three…"

"One."

"Two."

"Three…."

Their initial feeling was the shockwave generated by the explosion. It was powerful enough to knock Ryuu back into the foxhole, mainly because he was in the open air. Daiki, Rokuru and Katsu were hit against the wall of the foxhole. They looked up to see a gigantic mushroom of fire, which turned black. They could feel the intense heat on their skin. Then the BOOM of the explosion was the last of the sensations, or so they hoped. It was deafening, literally. Daiki lifted his head up, and could only mumble about it's awesome power, before realizing he'd been temporarily deafened. A sharp pain ripped through his head, and he immediately tried to withdraw his head. Bits and pieces of wood, bone, and shards of metal flew into the trees nearby. They looked like the trees themselves were blowing up from the inside.

"Is it over?" Katsu asked. His answer was quick and simple: A near complete goblin skull rained down from the sky, hitting his left shoulder. He looked up, and saw tons of debris raining down.

About ten minutes passed before they ventured out. Their caravan wagon canvas was ripped to shreds, and yet their blue bison was completely untouched. It was cowering in fetal position. They assessed the damage and debated about what to do next.

"Alfitaria is about three miles southwest from here," Rokuru started. "Southeast of here is the ruins of the ancient city of Tida, which just died for no apparent reason, so I have a general idea as to where I am. I have some family in Alfitaria, so I guess that's our best bet."

"Alright," Katsu said. "Alfitaria it is."

On the road to Alfitaria, Daiki was silent most of the way, lost in his thoughts. It wasn't until it was visible to them that he finally spoke.

"Something isn't right," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Ryuu.

"Well, for one thing, where did the goblins get gunpowder?"

"Troubling enough. Especially if they know how to manufacture it."

"Since when did the goblins lead an entire regiment into an ambush?"

"Also strange…."

"Something isn't right. I don't think it was an ambush. Did you see the orc?"

"Riding a Griffin?" piped in Katsu.

"Yeah!" replied Daiki. "They were hit by the cannon first! Maybe he was an intended target!"

"Maybe there had been a battle and he was just a straggler. That would explain the regiment of goblins, and if an orc figured out how to tame and ride a griffin, he must be of high power to ride it!"

"Then we shall see if there is any news about a goblin war. We just left home about five days ago, right? This is our first stop."

"And stopping we are!" exclaimed Rokuru. They had come up to the large gates and were passing through.

"Roki, is that you?" Someone asked from behind.

"Uncle Rai!" he cried.

Uncle Rai was a short, plump Lilty, normal for those his age. He had red hair and was carrying a leather bag full of papers.

"It's been so long, Roki! We have so much to catch up on! I've finally quit my job at that moron of a blacksmith's place and started my own! We've also moved into a bigger house! You'll love it here! Please, come to my shop and tell me all about your adventures! I can make new weapons for all of you!" He seemed to be very excited to have someone in his shop. Daiki caught some of what Rokuru said under his breath; it was something about how he hated being called Roki in front of his fellow caravaners.

"Okay, Uncle Rai," he agreed. "But first, we need to rest."

"Oh, sure!" Rai said. "By the looks of you it seems as though you guys were _in_ that explosion a few miles northwest of here! Did you guys see it? Man, that blast was…WHOA!"

"You saw that?" Rokuru asked.

"We caused it," said Ryuu and Daiki at the exact same time.

"Wow…" Rai trailed off. "How did you…you…what?"

"Gunpowder," Katsu said. They started walking over to Rai's house.

"Gunpowder?" Rai asked. "That's…new technology. Cutting edge. Only available in—" He trailed off.

"Marr's Pass," Ryuu finished.

"Unsettling…I keep in touch with some Lilty friends Roki had over there, but lately the moogle hasn't returned from Marr's Pass…none of them have."

"You still talk to the Gahrims?"

"Of course! But…something is not right."

They were silent for the rest of the way back, until Ryuu pointed out an inn they could stay at while they were there.

"Ah! Niu's inn!" Said Rai.

"Niu?" Rokuru asked.

"My sister-in-law. She owns it. I might be able to get your Aunt Akiko to get you a discount," he said. "That is, if you stay," he added quickly.

* * *

Daiki, Katsu and Ryuu all sat by the fireplace in the lobby of the inn. Akiko persuaded her sister Niu to let them stay one night in her inn for free; Rokuru stayed with Rai and Akiko. They had been discussing about whether or not they should leave for Marr's Pass. 

"We have to. If we ever want to find out how the goblins got it, we need to go there. Maybe we can find a way to stop them," reasoned Katsu.

"And what?" Ryuu asked. "Leave Tiaga to die in the Miasma, waiting for us to bring back some Myrrh?"

"The crystal will not stop any goblins, gunpowder or cannons!"

"I know. But it will die without the myrrh!"

"Damn!"

"What?"

"Did you just see those Selkies walk in!"

Ryuu grumbled something and cast Katsu a look of disgust. "Nice going, dumbass! You said that pretty loud," Daiki said. "They heard ya. Oh yeah."

The two Selkies talked to the person be hind the desk for a bit (he had been asleep, and woke up startled. It took them a few minutes to get him to put the knife down.), and looked at each other and giggled. The guy at the desk walked into the back room. One of the Selkies pointed to Katsu and started nodding. The other one tried to suppress a laugh, but failed. She nearly dropped something. Daiki was the only one to see what it was— a crystal chalice.

"They're caravaners too," he pointed out. "That's odd…"

"What?" Katsu said, eyeing them incessantly.

"They have a full chalice, and yet it is after the time the crystal should have received it. A month after, to be exact."

The person at the front had come back with a key, which he handed to them. They took it and walked over.

"Hey there," one of them said to Katsu. She introduced herself as Asuka, and she was traveling with her best friend. Her friend introduced herself as Kiyoko. Daiki questioned her wording; she had said "traveling", not "caravanning."

"Yeah, we're just drifters," Asuka said. "We were once caravaners, up 'til last year. You remember the river drying up? We were trapped on the wrong side of it."

"The guy with the boat was at Mount Kilanda," Kiyoko added. "By the time we got across the river it started again. We almost drowned, and by the time we got back, the people in Leuda said that our island was gone, swallowed by the miasma. So now we keep our chalice with us at all times, and we still have the three drops of myrrh."

"How long ago was that?" asked Asuka.

"Two years ago," Daiki said. "I remember leaving Selepation Cave and seeing a dry river. We were glad that we had taken out Daemon's Court a few weeks before, otherwise we probably would have been killed."

There was an awkward silence, broken by Kiyoko. "It was them."

Asuka looked shocked. "My god, you're right. I remember."

Another awkward silence.

"Didn't they have a lilty?" Asuka asked.

"Oh, Rokuru. Yeah, he's staying down the street with his aunt and uncle. His aunt's sister owns the place, so we get a 50 discount tonight," said Katsu.

"Where are you guys going tomorrow?" Kiyoko asked.

"Marr's Pass, but after Rokuru's uncle Rai makes us some new weapons."

"Rai? He's a blacksmith?" Kiyoko and Asuka looked shocked.

"Why is that strange?" asked Ryuu.

"He's an archeologist. He's coming close to finding out secrets of the miasma. He thinks it has existed before. Before the…the omen," said Asuka. "The comet. Remember that? And a year afterward, something came through—"

"—the sky, exploded, killed everything 15 miles around it, blocked out the sun, and 20 years later miasma appeared," Ryuu, Katsu and Daiki all said at once.

Yet another awkward silence befell them. This time they just stood there, watching the fire, absorbing it's warmth.

"We leave in two days, Marr's Pass, after Rai makes us new weapons and tells us what he knows about miasma," Daiki said. "Kiyoko and Asuka should join us. Afterwards, its either Cathuriges Mines or Iron Mine Downs to get some Myrrh. Now let's get some sleep."

"This is gonna be on hell of a year," commented Ryuu.


	2. Alfitaria

**_-A/N- Sorry about this being a short chapter, they'll be longer from now on. I kind of hit a block when I was writing this chapter, so it seemed a bit uneventful to me. Will get better, I promise._**

Daiki was the last one to awaken the next morning. He was awakened by Ryuu, telling him to get his stuff for Rai together. Rai was already finished with Rokuru's weapon, and he told Ryuu to summon Daiki.

"What time is it?" Daiki asked groggily.

"About 9," Ryuu told him.

Daiki got up, and scratched his head during a long, satisfying yawn. He looked around, and noticed something missing.

"Hey, where's Katsu?" he asked through another yawn.

"Eh? Oh, he got up early to—"

"What? He got up early? Why the fu—"

"—the Selkies, Asuka and Kiyoko, remember?" Ryuu cut him off.

"Oh yeah…does he actually think he has a chance with them?" Daiki asked as he dressed himself.

"Maybe. They're coming to Marr's Pass with us tomorrow, remember?"

"So…is he hoping to bunk with them?"

"Maybe we should stick you with them, Daiki! Just to piss him off," Ryuu laughed. "Or _Roki_," he said as Rokuru walked in.

"Huh? What?" he asked.

"HA!" Daiki said. "You answered to Roki!"

"Shut up!" Rokuru said. "Now what did you say about me sleeping with Selkies? What did Ryuu tell you now?"

"Nothing, it was about Katsu," Ryuu said. "Anyway, Daiki needs to get his stuff from the cart and go to Rai. While he's doing that, Rokuru, you and me should go and see if we can find a new canvas for our wagon…and maybe repair it a bit."

"Um…okay," Rokuru said. "We should unload everything right now into this room, so all of Daiki's and Katsu's materials should be here."

* * *

Rokuru and Ryuu returned at about 12:00, with a new canvas and a few wooden planks needed to repair the cart. They also were carrying a couple of loaves of bannock, and some meat, fish and berries to eat that day. They met up with Daiki in the inn's room. 

"What weapons did ya get?" Rokuru asked.

"He made us all Ultima Weapons," Daiki said. "I went to thank him after he finished Katsu's weapon and he was gone…strange."

"Yeah, last night he holed himself up in his office and didn't come out for…a long time."

"What does he do in there?" Daiki asked.

"I don't know…he's only a blacksmith, and I can't understand why that would take up so much paperwork…."

"Asuka and Kiyoko said he was an archeologist…and he studies miasma."

"Asuka and…who? What?" Rokuru looked puzzled.

"The Selkies you're sleeping with!" Ryuu exclaimed.

"Shut up or I'm gonna stick my spear in someplace that will prevent you from walking OR sitting for weeks!" Rokuru snapped back.

"Well, you'll meet them soon enough," Ryuu said. "They're coming with us to Alfitaria. And I think it would be wise to ask Rai about his findings; they could help us. But—wait, where is Katsu?"

"Katsu?" Daiki asked. "Oh, he's out with the Selkies. He said he was gonna come back after he helped them with something."

"And back I am." Katsu walked in with Asuka and Kiyoko.

"We were out in the town getting food…and stuff for the road," Asuka said. "That, and strapping our canoe to the rear of your cart."

"I think we could leave now if you guys wanted to," Asuka said.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Eh? What's that?" Daiki asked. He walked over to the door and slowly, cautiously opened it. He opened quickly after a few seconds, Ultima Sword in hand.

There was nobody there. He stepped out and looked; he saw nobody but tripped over something. He looked down to see a small, brown leather bag. _Rai's bag_, he realized. He picked it up cautiously, as if he were expecting to find a fuse sticking out of it, lit and moving fast. "Guys," he said. "Something isn't right."

They opened the bag and found—

"Papers. Lots and lots of papers," Rokuru said.

"They're all about Miasma," Ryuu said.

"Hey, I told you he was an archaeologist," Asuka said.

"Guys…look," Daiki said, pointing outside.

On first look, it seemed normal on the streets, with busy people going out and about, the loud noises of kids screaming as they played their games. A slightly closer look revealed the horror unleashed in Alfitaria:

People were not going out and about in their daily lives, running errands or doing chores. Kids did not scream in their games because their games were not being played. A large smokestack arose from one of the houses. Not from the chimney, but from the house itself. The people were busy trying to rush water to it, to get it out.

"Uncle Rai…" Rokuru started off. "Yuke, use blizzaga or something to put that thing the frig out!"

"That may be the best idea you've ever had, Lilty," he replied.

After a few hours of blizzaga being cast all over and water being dumped everywhere, the fire was finally out. Ryuu had lowered the temperature of the town by about 56°. The sun began to set, and people were clearing out everything in Rai's house. One thing was missing: Rai.

As the sun set, snow began to fall. Everyone in town was silent. The snow blanketed the town and everything around. The silence wasn't ever broken because everyone knew what the truth was: this was no accident.

"Katsu?" Asuka asked when the last of the glow from the sunset was gone. "Please…lets leave…right now…tonight. We aren't safe." There were tears in her eyes. He knew she was right. They needed to leave.

20 minutes later they were in the caravan cart, leaving.


	3. The Living Forest

-1-- -A/N- I've been busy with school …updates may take a while. --

The wind was cold as they left Alfitaria. The darkness in front of them seemed to be mocking them, mocking how they needed to venture away from a safe place, how it had just taken an ally from them, and how that ally's true fate is unknown. Rai's remains were never found, his true fate unknown. The coldness was a result of Ryuu's constant Blizzaga, and the temperature drop was drawing moisture out of the air. They were too afraid to use any light, for fear that whoever had started the fire at Rai's house would kill them, too. They traveled for hours under the night sky.

"Stop here," Ryuu instructed. "We are 4 miles from the Miasma stream. We shall travel 3 miles west before going any further."

They all understood what he meant. They didn't feel safe on the road, and in the morning they would travel a total of 5 miles to the road. Ryuu was good with different branches of mathematics, and probably calculated it hours before.

The journey was long, and the three miles seemed as if they were uphill, when they were in fact visibly downhill. The moon seemed to grow larger. After an hour of trying to trek silently, they made it to a small clearing, canopied by trees, but something wasn't right. They could hear something…whispers.

"What the hell…?" Daiki said as he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

"What was it?" Ryuu asked.

"A person…or something. I don't know. He was glowing, and he was far out that way…" He pointed out to the left. "He moved faster than any person could…."

Through what little moonlight made it through the trees, Ryuu looked at him. "You're seeing things, Daiki. You're just tired." He then looked at the rest of them. "We will stay here for the night."

"Don't go insane now, Daiki," Rokuru said half-jokingly.

Night finally passed as the early morning dawn broke. At the first light the caravan was ready to move, but slowly and groggily. Nobody slept that night, or at least what was left of it.

"I'm so hungry," Rokuru whined. "Daiki…lets make some bacon or something…we have some meat and a loaf of bannock."

"Ryuu would instantly object…but he's gone scouting out to make sure we weren't followed," Daiki said.

"I'll take that as a yes…"

They made a small fire, in a pit, with leaves and twigs that made little smoke. The only sounds were the occasional cracks of the fire. Then sizzling bacon, then meat. The smells were great. Katsu finally broke the silence.

"Hey Daiki, how long have you been cooking that?" he asked with a tone of concern.

"About 10 minutes…why?" he asked. "Ryuu ain't back yet, is he?"

"No…but the miasma here must be strong or something…the sun hasn't risen."

Everyone looked up at him. Asuka and Kiyoko stared at him as if he were crazy.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Asuka asked. "The sun…"

Everyone saw why she trailed off. The sun hadn't risen. It was up against the mountains in the distance, the mountains peaking up between the trees in the forest. That's where it had been when Ryuu left them. Exactly there. Daiki pulled out his compass.

"Guys…" He started. "The sun is in the North." Everyone exchanged worried looks. "Just where the hell have we be taken?"

"Yah!" Rokuru roared. "NO! THE BACON! NO!" Everyone just stared at him. "Its burned…" he said pitifully.

"Keep the fire going," Ryuu said. He walked up from behind them while Rokuru was worrying about the bacon. "Night is falling again…we need to get out of this miasma-forsaken forest."

* * *

That night fell an hour after the sun barely rose. Ryuu had just sat there, sipping water, thinking silently. By the time the fire was the only source of light in the forest, he was ready to speak. 

Everyone gathered around him, as if he were to be instructing them for a mission that would determine whether they live or die. Intently focused on him, the listened.

"The miasma here…is unusual. While I was away…" Ryuu trailed off. The fire crackled and the flames danced in front of everyone's faces. "We weren't followed by a large number of living things, as I thought."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rokuru said.

"The miasma here…it isn't miasma…" Ryuu was speaking faster and more frantically. "It can't be miasma, its- its not, it can't be…its … its alive. Its…I don't know anymore, but this is not natural." He now spoke as if everything was one word. "We need to get the hell out of here…now, at night…nights are how we get in and out… but its daytime outside of here…we can't leave until its nighttime in both of these places."

"And how do you know all of this?" Asuka asked.

Ryuu did something unexpected; he produced a journal. It was easily 400 years old.

"I've also solved one of this world's greatest mysteries…" Ryuu was speaking normally and calmly. "I know what happened to—"

"Tida," Daiki said. "That symbol…I remember it from…." He couldn't finish what he started.

"Yes…" Rokuru said. "They got stranded here, and they conducted research…anything that stays here…it becomes…." He seemed nervous, almost sick even. "We need to get the hell out of here…soon. But we need to wait…if we try to leave we will be stranded here until after the next day."

Kiyoko seemed nervous. "Why?"

"We will be stranded here if we try to leave when its daytime out there. Even if it becomes night, we tried to leave…and angered…it. Miasma. Whatever the hell this evil is, we will anger it…not only will we be stranded here, we won't be able to leave, we'll become…like them."

"Who?" Asuka asked.

"The Tida Caravan."

"What happened to them? What happens if you stay here too long?"

Katsu saw this as an opportunity. He put his arm around Asuka, comforting her.

"I'll show you when we leave…be we mustn't linger there for long."

"Why not?" asked Daiki.

Ryuu said nothing; he simply removed his armor on his left arm, and revealed the hideous scratch in there. There were three claw marks, about an inch wide at the ends, 3 inches in the middle. Asuka gasped, and tears formed in her eyes. Katsu stood there with her, trying to cure the paralysis from the fear. She started crying.

"This figure…it attacked me," Ryuu said. "I saw the caravan, and investigated…I found that journal…and an irregular path. I followed it…and I came within viewing distance of the Miasma Stream. I guess my own personal crystal alone wasn't enough to defend against those beasts…."

"What beasts?" Daiki said, listening intently.

"It was a purple specter, transparent. A white, jagged, transparent outline, and it was shaped like it was a Clavat, only it was at least 8 feet tall. It scratched me, and it made…these." He held out his arm to show.

"That…That's what I saw! Last night, with the whispers! That's what it was!" Daiki exclaimed. This epiphany was important to him, after what happened last night.

"Is that what we will become?" Kiyoko asked.

"No…our fate…'tis worse, maybe…you shall see later tonight…"

Everyone sat around the fire, waiting. Katsu was the only one who was enjoying himself, with his arms around the two other Selkies with him. Daiki sat there with Rokuru, poking the fire with sticks, finding bugs to catch on fire, and burning anything they could find. Ryuu sat in his wooden chair that he had brought on every Caravan, and sat there, gazing into the fire. His stare showed no emotion, no hint to his thoughts, no indication to what was going on inside his head.

"Dammit!" Rokuru yelled. "I almost had that spider in the fire…did you see that, Daiki? It was 3 inches long! It was a fricking tarantula!"

Daiki laughed at him. "Outsmarted by a spider…nice. That's lower than that time you were outsmarted by that Chocobo… the one that almost killed you—"

"Shut up…the nurse said I would have lived anyway!" He shot back through Daiki's laughter. "I'm gonna go kill that fricking spider…" He walked off, following its trail. Daiki laughed as he listened to Rokuru as he struggled to catch it a second time.

Kiyoko walked over to Daiki and sat down on the log with him. "It must be nice…having a lot of friends…and a home to go to at the end of the year." She put his arm around him.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I've only got Asuka…." She trailed off.

Daiki didn't dare ask what happened to her home. He watched as a single, small tear formed in her eye as she stared into the fire. Somewhere in the background, he heard Rokuru trip, followed by the usual "OW, Dammit!"

"Sorry…" Kiyoko started. "Bad conversation-starter, I guess…."

"Did you want to talk to me or something?"

"Nah…not really. Katsu and Asuka were gonna go fool around or something…so…"

"Hah…funny."

They sat there, watching the fire. The silence was broken only by Rokuru's failed attempts at getting the tarantula, which he finally succeeded at after an hour or so. He held it with two sticks as he put it into the fire, and pulled out a burning spider.

"Take that, inferior being!" he yelled.

"Wow, you've so far only proved your superiority to a tarantula…great job!" Daiki mocked.

"Up yours!" Rokuru yelled, and he tossed the squirming, burning spider onto Daiki.

Sometime after Daiki got the spider off of him and managed to peg Rokuru in the face with it (it had stopped squirming by then), Ryuu finally spoke.

"The night has fallen on both worlds," he said without looking away from the fire. "Its time to leave here."

The all understood, and they took his orders without question. They made torches from the fire, and packed up the Caravan. Everyone was present except Asuka and Katsu.

"Where are they?" Ryuu asked. Kiyoko giggled. She led Daiki to them, just in time to find Asuka slipping her shirt back on. She giggled when she saw Kiyoko. They all went back to the cart, and the caravan set off to leave the forsaken forest.

They had no idea what they were going to find at the site of the Caravan, and even Ryuu was going to be wrong about it.


End file.
